Heart of England Way

Milford – Bourton on the Water, 8^th-12^th April 2013

Introduction

 As the winter weather seemed everlasting this year, I was looking for a low level route for my spring offensive. Then we were invited to a family christening in Oxfordshire and all was revealed. I would walk there and Jill would drive down for the weekend and bring me home. And the best route available seemed to be the Heart of England Way. I made the bookings and prepared the rucksack. It all seemed so simple. Then United changed the date of their match with City.

 

Monday 8^th April       Milford – Lichfield

Home for the Derby

 I drove down to the station and caught an early train to Stafford, then a bus to Milford. This dropped me off at the very start of the route, in a car park on Milford Common. The ascent onto Cannock Chase was up a series of long steady inclines, gentle but ever upwards until the plateau was reached. I saw the trig point but failed to recognise the Glacier Boulder, unless it was a small stone near a remote car park. If this was it, then it was very disappointing. Then I must have taken the wrong path out of this car park because I never found the Polish Memorial. Instead I hit the path coming away from it and I wasn’t going back. After all, I had a train to catch.
 

There was no more trouble with route finding. Marquis Drive is a long straight route that spears across the rest of the Chase. Only a short section is tarmacked, that being around the visitor centre. The turn-off was along a very busy road and an off road alternative turned out to be very wet and muddy. But it led directly onto the footpath to Castle Ring and then passed a whole series of pubs. The descent from high ground was along another roadside path but once in the Trent Valley there was much road walking and my first ploughed field.  But I was soon in the outskirts of Lichfield, passing quickly through parks and sports field and round the back of the houses into the Cathedral precinct.

 I walked through the pedestrianised town centre until I got to Birmingham Road. There I abandoned the route, turned north and strode out for Trent Valley Station. I took a train back home, collected the car, changed and fed and set off for Old Trafford. That was a waste of time but at least I slept in my own bed.

Milford dep. 09.15, Lichfield arr. 13.30, 15 miles on route (plus another mile or more to the station) in 4hrs 15 mins.

Tuesday 9^th April 2013       Lichfield  – Whitacre Heath

Back to the Job in Hand

So it was back to the station again and another train, this time back to Lichfield. I missed the connection (signal failure) into City Station so had to resort to a taxi but was soon back in the central shopping area having a cappuccino & carrot cake. The exit from Lichfield was quite complex and I was glad of the guidebook as I took ginnels and pavements through new housing estates. Eventually I came out on the A51 and had a long stretch on the pavement to the outskirts of the city. Finally I turned out of civilisation onto a lovely straight path heading south.

At Buck Head’s Farm, just after the A5 footbridge, I met a lone woman doing the end-to-end walk. She was a GP wanting a career break who had decided to take three months leave and go for it. I wished her luck and we went our opposite ways, me to enjoy a great climb up to Rookery Farm and roads and fields to Hint’s Farm. Then followed the worst section on the entire route, four miles or more of tarmac through to Drayton Bassett and the canal. The author of the guidebook had indicated the obvious off-road alternative but was prevented from making it official by a short length of private road. It will be a great benefit when he overcomes this impasse.

It was interesting crossing the canal over the twin towers bridge and a blessed relief to be on a towpath after all that road. Three miles of towpath brought me to the first of the wildlife pools and I turned off round the lakes to reach Broomey Croft Children’s’ Farm where, Lord be thankful, there was a tea shop. A very reasonably priced tea and fruit cake saw me fuelled for the final few miles, these consisting of a tour of Kingsbury Water Park and then an exit into Kingsbury village. The approach to the village was dramatic with a ruined fortified hall high up on a bluff above the river and some steps leading up to a lovely old church.

The last section round the firing range involved a long crossing of a newly ploughed field and then across farmland into Whitacre Heath. Here I took the official route on the east side of the railway and, just as I realised I was bypassing my accommodation for the night, I came to a footbridge over the railway and back to the digs.

 Lichfield dep. 10.53, Whitacre Heath arr. 17.25, GPS 19.90 miles in 6hrs 16m 11s.

 I stayed in the Railway Guest House on Station Road, Whitacre Heath. I ate in the Swan Inn, Partridge pie and chips with spotted dick and custard and some well-kept Bass Premium Ale (4.4%).

Wednesday 10^th April 2013    Whitacre Heath – Henley in Arden

Old Churches Galore

I was woken early with water dripping from the ceiling onto the foot of my bed. Problems with the shower upstairs, said my landlady trying to remain calm. But at least I got a good early start for what was planned to be the longest day of the trip. Unfortunately it turned out to be even longer than expected. The guidebook, so reliable in every other facet, had the first section down as 3.25 miles. When my GPS reached 4.25 miles, I realised that someone had made an error, a mistake that was then replicated through the book in total aggregate mileages.

 

I could hear the M6 from more than two miles away, a constant low frequency roar. It was a relief to reach and cross it on a mud-covered farmer’s bridge. Now at least the roar was behind me. The improvement in the weather had brought out all the farmers and unfortunately I have to traverse several newly ploughed fields. A full day of this would have been dreadful but the route got less ploughed and more pleasant as I went south. 

I passed some lovely old churches, in particular St Laurence at Meriden and St John Baptist at Berkswell. The latter had a medieval wooden porch on its south door. I took a quick peep inside and gave thanks for the continuing dry weather. I was sunburnt. Then I passed over the boardwalks and into parkland. Just then, my phone rang. It was my daughter Rachel with some news that stopped me in my tracks. She was expecting another baby and I was to be a grand-father once again. I was so preoccupied with the prospect that I completely missed the loop into Baddesley Clinton and was on the road through the village before I realised my error. But who cares when you are walking on air. I got back on-route at the Poor Clares Convent and in no time at all was down at the magnificent old hall. The good weather had brought every one out and their dog. The car park was heaving and it was not the day for a quiet look around. I must return here again.  

Then it was only a short section to the complex of canals that, once successfully navigated, would lead directly towards the end of my day. The towpath of the Stratford Canal passed under the M40 and at the next village, I turned for home. A surprising hilly section finished on the Mount, an Iron Age fort overlooking Henley. The staggering views gave a good end to the day. A steep descent to another old church dropped me straight onto the main street. My hotel was a short way to the left. 

Whitacre Heath dep. 08.40, Henley in Arden arr. 17.20, GPS 26.54 in 8hr 38m 28s 

I stayed in the Bridge House Hotel and tried to eat at the White Swan (superb pint of Chamberlain Pale Ale 4.5% from Two Towers Brewery) but they had a function on so I retreated to an Indian (Naya) and sunk two pints of Cobra. 

Thursday 11^th April 2013     Henley in Arden – Lower Quinton

Protests in the Country 

It had rained during the night and it was wet underfoot for the first time this week. It was a grey misty morning and very cold, what a Scot would refer to as driek. But it was good walking over grassy fields up to Bannam’s Wood. There was enough uncleared windfall in the woods to make it a tricky traverse. But the route turned soon enough towards Alcester. The last mile into town were spectacular, along a high ridge that led right into the out suberbs with industry on either side. The town itself looked very pleasant but the coffee shops were very busy. One was too full to consider whilst the next suggested I look elsewhere. Well, it was a bit early for a morning break so I walked on. 

I continued up the hill out of town and passed Oversley Castle, a relatively modern construction.  
Then it was a long line of stiles through Wixford and Broome before entering the outskirts of Bidford on Avon. At the old river bridge, I glance towards the town centre and, lo and behold, there was a tea shop. A pot of Earl Grey and a ‘lardy’ were just what the doctor ordered. So 30 minutes later, I was still preparing to cross the narrow bridge. On the other side the route crossed the flood meadows to Barton which had a very nice-looking pub. Then a farm track seemed to go on for ever. This brought me to new coverts, plantations under the Heart of England Forest Project.

In Dorsington, I admired the expensive house mentioned in the guidebook. Banners all over the village professed the local opposition to a wedding venue and party tent at the nearby hotel. A long flat section beside a stream led across the fields to Long Marston, a one street town on a busy road. A two mile stretch of field edge paths took me round and into Lower Quinton. At the junior school, I left the route and turned right in search of my b&b. This turned out to be the very last building in the village. I arrived just in time. The rain bucket down until it was time to go out in search of food. 

Henley in Arden dep. 08.51, Lower Quinton arr. 16.40, GPS 21.46 miles in 7hrs 18m 36s 

I stayed in Vicarage Farm which was at the western extremity of the village. The walk across the village to and from the College Arms added another two miles to the day’s total. The Venison Casserole & dumplings was perfect. The beer was Doom Bar (Sharps/Coors at 4.0%)

 

Friday 12^th April 2013     Lower Quinton – Bourton on the Water

Gloucestershire Mud 

I was back on a tight schedule today as Jill was driving down this afternoon to meet me. So I went for an early get-away and was quickly back onto route and along the road to Upper Quinton. From there a field path contoured round Meon Hill and it was quite difficult to pick the exact line. The overnight rain made all off-road walking extremely slippery. But I was soon in Mickleton, the home of the Pudding Club. But I saw nothing of the village as I went straight through between the houses and came out at the church. Then there was a long climb up a muddy field and on to Mickleton Hills. The farm was a beautiful building and then the path turned right across the top of the railway tunnel entrance and headed off into Chipping Campden. This looked gorgeous in a bit of morning sunshine. What a pity I had no time for tea shops. 

A ploughed field into Broad Campden was a pain and the slippery and overgrown contour out to Campden Hill Farm was a drag. I just could not get any pace or rhythm going. Then it began to rain again and the farm track descended into mud. I gained two inched in height in the next mile. There was a deep valley between me and Blockley and I was getting hotter and hotter in all my rain gear. I had a five minute mind block before I found to correct path out of Blockley. This led up another steep climb to where a party of day walkers were warning me of even more mud. The next section and especially the descent into Batsford Park was a nightmare as I skated from side to side on the increasingly slippery surface. I was glad to get to the bottom and to turn onto the paths and roads that led to Bourton on the Hill.

The sun came out again as I set off into Sezincote Park and off came all the waterproofs. But the only likeliness to Rajasthan came from the Sezincote House. The mud told me that I was not in India. Then in Longborough a black cloud deposited another load of water onto the footpaths and
even the grassy field were now slow going. Jill text me to say she was parked up and I had to reply that I would be late. What with slipping and sliding and taking waterproofs on and off, I was running behind schedule.

So it was after 4pm (our rendezvous time) that I was waiting to cross the busy Bourton by-pass. I walked back into suburbia and found the path to the church that was the end of the way. Jill was walking up High Street as I arrived at the finish. She had recced the tea shops and I was soon tackling a large piece of Victoria Sponge, the first thing I had eaten all day. Then she bundled me into her car and we drove off for our weekend and Christening in Oxfordshire. 

Lower Quinton dep. 08.38, Bourton on the Water arr. 16.07, GPS 22.69 in 7hrs 29m 03s

Conclusions 

I was amazed at the sustained quality of the route of the trail. The avoidable road sections and the ploughed fields did not detract from some lovely (and hilly) countryside. And remember, the Way is at least a mile longer than the guidebook says.

 

 

Camel -Teign Ivor's Dream 100

 

Jamaica Inn – Teignmouth

23^rd-26^th March 2013

 

Introduction

Mike was planning an attempt on the 2013 LDWA 100. Success would be his 20^th over at 25 year period, a remarkable feat. But a recce would be of great benefit, especially a recce of the section he would be doing under darkness. So he arranged a four day trip to look at the last 77 miles of the route and invited me to join him. The route was breath-taking in its concept, a coast to coast west-east traverse of Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor from the Atlantic to the Channel coast, from Cornwall to Devon. How could I resist!

Saturday 23^rd March 2013       Jamaica Inn – North Hill

I’m Dreaming of a White Easter

As the snow began to fall, Jill drove me to the station to catch an early morning train. The roads were covered with slush and I was worried about dragging her out on such a morning. Mike was already waiting for me with the train tickets and we were soon off to Birmingham passing through a snow-covered landscape. The east wind was blowing more snow almost horizontally across the fields. As we got further south the snow got thicker. At New Street Station we stood watching the departures board whilst awaiting the delayed connection. But, half an hour late, the Exeter train arrived and on we got. Ten minutes out of Birmingham, however, we ground to a halt. Trees brought down by the combined weight of wind and snow were blocking the line. Eventually we returned to New Street and tried again on the next train, absolutely packed now of course with reservations out of the window and under a snow drift.

We eventually got through the blockage and headed south and southwest to catch a connection at Exeter that put us 2 hours behind our original schedule. So it was nearly 4 pm when we arrived at Bodmin Parkway and 4.15pm when the taxi dropped us at Jamaica Inn. (The driver had been
expecting to put his clocks forward that night – a week early – so it’s a good job we hadn’t booked him for the following day!) There was no snow but at least it was not raining. With seven mile to cover and racing the oncoming dusk, there was no time for niceties. We were off, along a lane and through farmland onto Bodmin Moor. The moor itself was trackless and the traverse was on a compass bearing which was not particularly accurate. We ended up south of our intended target but a wall corner was a superb orientation point and we scampered off the moor and along the lanes into North Hill as darkness descended. The pub was the very last building in the village.

 Jamaica Inn dep. 16.15, North Hill  arr. 18.30,  GPS  7.16 miles in 2hrs 13m 07s

Stayed in the Racehorse Inn. Ate chicken curry, apple crumble and custard and pints of Harbour Brewery, Bodmin, Light Ale  3.7% and Sharps Doombar 4%. The offer of 2 courses for £10 was excellent value.

Sunday 24^th March 2013       North Hill – Tavistock
Turkey Attack

We had ordered breakfast for 8am and were down early. We had a big day ahead of us. So, with a full English inside to keep us warm, we set off at 8.45am down the lane and steep grassy field to the local stream where the owner of the pub was walking his dog.  Then followed a steep climb onto Twelve Mans Moor, the last outlier of Bodmin Moor. Another compass crossing, more accurate this time, led us across trackless moorland onto a huge pile of boulders where the instructions told us to turn left and aim for a 20ft high granite outcrop. This was entirely overshadowed by Sharp Tor and did not become obvious until we had reached it. But we then had the line off the moor down to an enclosed lane and farm track. A granite based tramway took us round the hillside to Minions and our first civilisation of the day. The surrounding hills were covered by derelict chimneys and wheel-houses from old mining works.

It was too early to stop in a café so on we strode along a long tarmacked lane that led to a hill covered with communications towers. Then a grassy descent besides a wall took us down to Pensilva. We met a guy there who obviously knew what we were up to; he had a friend who was a member of the LDWA and was considering have a go at the 100. The next section took us through Scrawsdon Farm where Mike was attacked by a huge turkey, displaying with its colourful tail/ruff feathers. It pecked at us as we crossed the farm yard and then chased us up the track. ‘Better than a guard dog’, said the farmer. ‘Just wait till Christmas’, replied Mike.

As we crossed Kerney Bridge, we were face with a ‘footpath closed’ sign. Undeterred we blundered on, to find the only concern was that a small drainage channel (canalised steam) had lost its footbridge. As it could be crossed with a single stride, a plank would have sufficed. The footpath closure was another example of health & safety madness in action. There was no café open on a Sunday in Callington so we sat on a bench near the church and ate our snacks (and froze).  Then, after a stutter with the route near Tesco we climbed out of town and up to Kitts Hill, supposedly a fine view point but not today. Another missed turned cost us an extra ¼ mile on the way down but the rest of the section was on easy lanes and tracks to Luckett. Another short rest prepared us for the denouement of the day, the muddy exit from the village and crossing of the Tamar at Horsebridge (“leaving God’s own country  behind” said the Route Description). Devon did not initially seem as attractive. A climb through a huge wood was topped by contaminated water signs and an old arsenic works. Then there was much road walking to reach Tavistock over the historic old railway viaduct.
 

We stayed in Kingfisher Cottage beautifully situated on the banks of the river. The owner had just got in after organising the local half-marathon. We might have been better running this. We had walked more than twice the distance. There was no pub in town serving food on a Sunday evening! So we ate in the Tavi Friary, a fish & chip shop (bottled Jail Ale 4%, from Dartmoor Brewery.

North Hill dep. 08.45, Tavistock arr. 18.15, GPS 27.92 miles in 9hrs 26m 30s.

Monday 25^th March 2013    Tavistock – Ashburton
Jail Ale Rock

It promised to be a shorter day, even though we were attempting a complete traverse of Dartmoor. So a more leisurely breakfast and start time led to me ringing Rachel as we climbed in bright sunshine steeply onto and over the golf course. It was soon too cold for messing around and we donned cagoules over the already well-covered torsos. The wind was penetrating five layers of winter walking gear. We thought that we were aiming at the tops of a series of high rocky tors and felt cheated when our route took us round and down a long series of roads. Eventually however we got up high to contour round Ingra Tor on an old railway track. A series of right turns then took us up again to a wide track which curved and contoured for miles through the moor to Princetown. It was on this section that we met more walkers than at any other part of our journey. A Duke of Edinburgh party of girls, then dog walkers, all were out walking towards us. We were the only ones attempting the trip into the bitingly cold wind. The route entered town passed the brewery that had made last night’s beer, Jail Ale.

The Old Police Station Café was open in Princetown so in we went and ordered our soup, apple pies and coffee. It was tempting to stay in the warmth for the rest of the day but it was eventually time to venture out again onto Dartmoor. The section over to Huccaby Farm was described as easy and so it was except for the bleakness, bogginess, straightness and pathless nature of the route. It was a blessing when we crossed the River Swincombe and climbed into farmland and civilisation. Huccaby Farm is in a lovely spot opposite an old church. The next mile was far from lovely, first climbing a field of deep vehicle tracks, then dropping through ankle deep water to another hamlet before emerging on the road at Dartmeet. Then an ultra-steep climb on tarmac and a narrow trod which cut off a corner of the road. The trod continued a few yards to one side of the road, a poor attempt at keeping walkers off this busy highway. A wall was followed over almost trackless access land before we finally dropped onto a quiet lane which led us round to Dr Blackall’s Drive.

Then followed some of the finest walking on the entire route. The drive became an undulating track clinging to the edge of a long ridge and overlooking the wooded valley of the Dart, 500ft or so below. It could have been Scotland and Switzerland for that magnificent few miles. All too soon we were dropping down and down back to river level, this time to cross the Dart again at New Bridge. A late climb led over another ridge and down to the Dart for the last time at Holne Bridge. A long road section took us through the narrow lanes and into the outskirts of Ashburton.  

We stayed in the Old Coffee House next to the church. Across the road, the Exeter Inn was in the Good Beer Guide. (Dartmoor IPA 4.0%). But not the Good Food Guide so we went up the road to the Royal Oak where we got free puddings with our main course, (Teignworthy Reel Ale).

Tavistock dep. 09.00, Ashburton arr. 17.45  GPS  22.76 miles in 8hrs 4m 31s

Tuesday 26^th March 2013     Ashburton – Teignmouth

Dash for the Train

We had the usual breakfast at the usual time. Mike ate all the carbs, I waited for the full English. Jack Sprat (or am I his wife?). The sun shone again as we headed north and then east through the woods and up to Owlacombe Cross. Along the road to Sigford, we picked up a dog; or rather an overweight Labrador picked us up. Whatever we did we could not rid ourselves of this dog. We tried climbing stiles and shutting gates in its face but it still found a way through. Three miles down route, and way from its home, we came across another farm where the farmer agreed to tie up our companion and ring the number on its collar (muttering “there might be a reward” under his breath).

On our own at last we climbed over the next hill and round the back of the houses in Liverton The next section was close rather suburban, including dog walkers. One in particular was most interesting. As we crossed a wooded parkland, we got into conversation with a guy exercising two pointer dogs. He was a police dog handler, a dog psychologist, and these dogs could take down an escaping criminal or sniff out drugs. A microchip in each dog reveals that they cover 45 miles each working day, beyond even our scope as long distance walkers.

There was a horrible section of flooded tracks and boggy heathland before we got to Chudleigh Knighton, a one-street town. Here we came across the River Teign, sure signs that we were reaching the conclusion of our walk. A long section of road took us round Ugbrooke House and its vast estate. The lead-in track to Larcombe Farm was also flooded, this time in shin-deep reddy mud and water. After a brief stop for a bite to eat, we set off from the farm in the wrong direction. This cost us almost
15 minutes and put us back on a very tight schedule to catch the train. So we had to concentrate hard now on the last big climb, a mile-long bridleway over the last ridge before the sea. At last though, we were racing over Teignmouth golf course and down Shepherds Lane into town.
 

The whereabouts of the school was pretty obvious. Hundreds of students were spilling out of college as we made our way through the town. The stream of children led us to the footbridge across the main road which would be the end of the 100. We then turned away from the school and headed for the station. We arrived with minutes to spare and were soon on our way to Exeter and then Birmingham. We missed the direct train connection at New Street so had to wait for a train to Stoke. Here we parted, me to jump on a fast train to Macclesfield and Mike to wait for a stopper to Congleton. Mike was met at the station whilst I got the dubious opportunity to make our 78 mile walk a round 80.

Ashburton dep. 08.45,  Teignmouth Station arr. 15.25    GPS 21.14 in 6hrs 44m 43s.